Dukane Expands CNC Machining Capabilities to Meet Growing Demands

In its continued efforts to provide world class customer experience, shorter lead times, and outstanding design flexibility for their customers welding equipment manufacturer Dukane, St. Charles, Ill., has expanded CNC machining capabilities. Five new HAAS CNC machines have been installed at the company’s manufacturing facility in St. Charles, most of which have five-axis machining capabilities which can easily create incredibly complex surfaces and intricate geometries and allow high tolerances and precision while interfacing very well with computer-aided design (CAD) techniques.

Faster processing speed, ease of programming, and the convenience to switch setup between machines will drastically reduce cycle time. Each five-axis machine provides full simultaneous five-axis motion or can position a workpiece to almost any angle for machining. According to the company, these units are the perfect solution when machining large hot gas, laser and vibration welding tools with complex design. The five-axis units feature a large T-slot table to easily support large workpieces and fixtures, with an integrated 2-axis trunnion rotary table, to access nearly any angle on the part for complex shapes, undercuts, and 5-side machining often required for exterior automotive lighting applications.

Said Dukane sr. buyer Mark Mars, “Our customers are designing plastic parts with complex 3D geometries and demanding high precision tooling and fixtures. New five-axis machines will add to our capabilities of seamlessly machining complex tooling in house. We will be more cost effective and will provide shorter lead times to our customers.”

Dukane has met unprecedented expectations of their customers in the past year and is anticipating a surge in demand for more complex tooling in the near future with shorter lead times. Adding capacity and the latest technology is important for Dukane to stay at par with the growth of their customers.

Dukane sources note that plastic parts and applications are changing more than ever before, with manufacturers designing complex 3D parts for such sectors as automotive, medical, and home appliances. Moreover, the company claims that its hot gas welding  technology is known in the industry to provide unprecedented welding results for parts with complex weld seam geometry. Says one source, “In order to assemble these complex parts we are required to design tooling that not only provides sturdy support but is robust enough to provide consistent weld quality. Additionally, in 2020 we saw a tremendous demand for ultrasonic tooling and equipment for assembling PPE products which were needed ASAP. This led to the expansion of our in-house CNC machining capabilities.”